Best Craigslist Deals -- What have you bought?

[MarkMan]

I have only had a couple but they were good buys.

a non-working pacman for $25

A Bally Fireball Classic non working for $100. Took a fuse and some new play field rubber to make it mint. Total out of pocket to make the game 100% = $160

 

[animesuperj]

Gotten a few good ones here and there. Best is a fully working 4 player Eliminator for $100.

 

[ElectricDreamz]

i've finally learned after a couple years into the hobby to ONLY jump on great CL deals (and i've happily passed on decent deals knowing that eventually, the great deals will show up). God knows when i first started i grossly overpaid for arcade cabinets on CL

 

[kstillin]

Gotten a few good ones here and there. Best is a fully working 4 player Eliminator for $100.

That's pretty incredible.

 

[mcdermd]

Man, here in Pgh you don't see these deals. I'm aware of a pac man for 150. The games all seem to start at $200

In the PNW, they all seem to start at $400 on Craigslist.

 

[EconoDave]

I purchased a Williams Indiana Jones pinball with only shot flipper fuses for $150 about two years from someone on craigslist. Sold it about three months later for $3500.

 

[yaryar]

I purchased a Williams Indiana Jones pinball with only shot flipper fuses for $150 about two years from someone on craigslist. Sold it about three months later for $3500.

Now that is one hell of a great deal!! Hard to top that one.

 

[keithsarcade]

Best deals I've had with relatively minor issues:

Free RoadBlasters upright with $26 in quarters inside (bad monitor)
Free Robocop 2 (bad monitor)
$25 Hang-On (bad monitor, minor board repairs)
$60 Championship Sprint (hacked up monitor) which also led to a $100 Pac-Man (bad 5E rom)
$75 UMK3 in MK cab (bad processor socket, zip tie fix)
$100 Challenger (bad sound board)
$100 Centipede (bad monitor)
$100 Golden Tee '99 (cap kit)
$150 Asteroids (bad power switch)
$150 Cruis'n USA (bad monitor)

a couple of good working deals (games in great shape that needed next to nothing) $250 Dig Dug and $260 DK.

I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention a few more but that's all I can remember at the moment.

Recently my own mother of all people picked up a Megatouch for $65, with $95 inside.

My recent Craigslist deal was this $80 Pole Position. The game works, but the cabinet needs some help.

PP is usually the opposite. I had a working upright at one time and wouldn't mind having it back in cockpit form.

 

[enjoyvelvet]

I think I have you guys beat. The arcade gods have been extremely good to me with this hobby...

Here we go...
1. non working Ms. Pac Man - free (my first machine w/ $40 in quarters inside)
2. working Atari Smokey Joe - free (my second machine)
3. non working Gottlieb Black Hole pinball - free
4. non working Gottlieb Sinbad pinball - free
5. working Nintendo R-Type - free
6. working Asteroids - free
7. working Bally Judge Dredd - free
8. working alledged HUO Joust - $250
9. non working alledged HUO Robotron - $40
10. working Ms. Pac/Galaga reunion - $140 (with $60 in quarters inside)
11. non working Pole Position - $50
12. non working Galaga - $150


and DRUMMMMMROLLLLLL.....

13. non working alledged HUO dedicated Major Havoc (my best find ever) - $80

Heres a video of my Major Havoc when I picked it up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-vTRt6mU6Y

 

[f1tech]

I think I have you guys beat. The arcade gods have been extremely good to me with this hobby...

Here we go...
1. non working Ms. Pac Man - free (my first machine w/ $40 in quarters inside)
2. working Atari Smokey Joe - free (my second machine)
3. non working Gottlieb Black Hole pinball - free
4. non working Gottlieb Sinbad pinball - free
5. working Nintendo R-Type - free
6. working Asteroids - free
7. working Bally Judge Dredd - free
8. working alledged HUO Joust - $250
9. non working alledged HUO Robotron - $40
10. working Ms. Pac/Galaga reunion - $140 (with $60 in quarters inside)
11. non working Pole Position - $50
12. non working Galaga - $150


and DRUMMMMMROLLLLLL.....

13. non working alledged HUO dedicated Major Havoc (my best find ever) - $80

Heres a video of my Major Havoc when I picked it up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-vTRt6mU6Y

Wow, I mean, WOW! I will give you double what you paid for all of them. Where do I send the $1260?

 

[Smart Bomb]

this thread is making me nauseated.

 

[TimothyC]

Though I've been watching CL quite a bit in recent months, I used to rarely check it so I don't have a ton of snags under my belt (not that I have the space anyway). I did luck into a pc10 cab for $70 that was loaded with desirable titles and have picked up a free game before, but no working vectors for free or Major Havoc's for $80 like some of the guys above. I have passed many more decent looking CL listings to friends than I've gone after myself so hopefully my karma meter is nearing capacity and a cheap Major Havoc will drop in my lap shortly.

 

[Mitkraft]

I was reading this thread and thinking I haven't really had any awesome CL deals arcade related or otherwise. But then I remembered a very recent pickup that is sort of arcade related. I answered an ad for some gambling machines locally. It sounded bordering on sketchy but in the bunch of not all that desirable machines I spotted two Bally Elite V32 style machines (one was a Quick Hit Platinum and the other was a Breeders Cup). They turned out to be non-working and actually (as I eventually discovered) were missing the computer completely. However I talked the guy down to $250 for both cabinets and I'm pretty sure each cabinet is worth 3 times that much even as is. I was going to sell one to fund the restoration of the other but I discovered I figured out how to interface a PC to the touch screen so I'm going to keep them both and set them up as a multi-game system and play some stuff like the megatouch games and some PC based slot machine software I have which works really well with the tall touchscreen.

 

[Jonnylbluejeans]

damn, best I got off CL was a working Stern EM Pinball for $150 followed by a working donkey kong, working commando, and non-working galaga (bootleg) cabaret for $200.

 

[2chainz]

I got a $100 nba jam tournament Ed that only needed a new microswitch, a $5 thunderblade playing blind, and a $150 super punch-out missing only the plexi in a two week span. Then I scored a t2 pinball for $500. Nothing in the last 6-8 months though. I lied, I got a golden tee 2007 for 75$ about 5 months ago. Upgraded the ram video card and updated it to 2015 and built a pedestal for it. The golden tee gets the most play of all my games. Most of the 20+ cabs I own we're from Craigslist. I bought a few on eBay and a few from klovers but craigslist is my go to for deals.

 

[jasonsmith01]

Geographical supply and demand I believe is to blame for the lack of awesome deals on our CG listings. This thread hurts a little.